# Lord of the Fireflies vs Keldeo



## Eifie (Aug 25, 2015)

[size=+2]*Lord of the Fireflies vs Keldeo*[/size]



			
				Arena said:
			
		

> *Format*: 1 vs. 1 Singles
> *DQ*: Eight days
> *Damage Cap*: 48%
> *Banned Move*: Attract. _That's it._ Also, Direct Healing limited to one and Chills to three.
> ...


*Lord of the Fireflies's blob of blob*

 *Epitaph for a Despised Coward* the female Pumpkaboo (Small Size) <Frisk> @ Link Cable


*Keldeo's blob of blob*

 *Jamie* the male Pumpkaboo (Small Size) <Frisk> @ Link Cable

PM me yo orders (please post something in this thread tho so it doesn't become a spooky ghost town, we wouldn't want that)


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## Lord of the Fireflies (Aug 25, 2015)

...lurking in the shadows...

...what could it be...

...it crawls along the rotten undergrowth...snakes through the tombstones...without a sound...

...it disappeared!

_GAH!_


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## Eifie (Aug 25, 2015)

Eerie footprints, doubtless from a spooky, mysterious and rare Pokémon cross the burial ground. You block the way in for hours to prevent anyone from disturbing the earth while you sketch them...

It turns out they were only your own footprints...


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## Eifie (Aug 27, 2015)

*Round One*​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 100%
*Energy*: 100%
*Status*: Flashing her eyelights playfully.

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 100%
*Energy*: 100%
*Status*: Solemnly watching the horizon.

------------------------------​
_Woooooooo_...

The call of a lone Hoothoot echoes through the burial ground, and Jamie dives beneath a pile of dead leaves in fright. A few rustles, a twitch here and there, and it isn't Jamie that emerges, but his spirit doppelganger: a reanimated Pumpkaboo corpse, its perfectly circular carved eyeholes emanating a soft purple light instead of their usual orange. The spirit residing atop it, eyes narrowed to deep red slits, casts a distinctly malevolent presence over the battlefield. Its puppet master is nowhere to be seen.

Trembling, both from fear and cold, Epitaph decides to warm up a bit. Small flares burst from her eyeholes, propelling her backward into her trainer's legs. _Oops_. Epitaph turns around, back facing her opponent, and tries again. The chemical reaction within her pumpkin-y body produces more violent flames that send her rocketing straight into the Substiboo, which manages to squeak in a very intimidating and foreboding manner. Candle within her body now dimly alight, Epitaph feels limber enough to quickly release the friendly ghost residing in her hat, which whooshes invisibly forward to attempt to stem the flow of malevolent energy into the Substiboo from whence it came. The corpse glares back at her, unblinking, and she's unsure if she managed to accomplish anything...

Suddenly, from the pile of dead leaves bursts a large ball of fire. (The sheltering leaves, miraculously, remain unburnt.) The flame unfurls into a shape that vaguely resembles a five-pointed star, and Epitaph screws her eyes shut in horror at what's to come. Flames roar around her ghostly hat, scorching her stem and leaves, and slightly cooking her body. The delicious smell of roast pumpkin wafts faintly through the air.

In agony Epitaph instinctively summons up a ball of pale ghostly energy, imbuing it with some of the spirit of her resident ghost. The orb whizzes forward, first to one side, then the other, and slams into the Substiboo with explosive force. The ghostly energy eats its way into the Substiboo's skin, which rots and peels away with a ghastly sound until the creature falls over to its side, the light in its eyes extinguished. Epitaph heaves a temporary sigh of relief, until she looks up and sees Jamie emerging slowly from his shelter of leaves, minus one Link Cable, and he does not look happy. His eyes flash a flat black, and a sickening sensation passes through Epitaph's mind, her head spinning as she fights back the urge to vomit. Has... has the evil spirit possessed Jamie, now? It wouldn't be a good idea to upset it any more...

------------------------------​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 84%
*Energy*: 89%
*Status*: Disheartened. Was all her effort to banish the evil spirit for naught? Shadow Ball Spited. _+1 Speed_.
*Used*: Flame Charge ~ Disable ~ Shadow Ball

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 80%
*Energy*: 79%
*Status*: Eager to avenge his fallen "friend". Substitute Disabled (2 more actions).
*Used*: Substitute (20%) (drop item) ~ Fire Blast ~ Spite

*Arena Status*

 The end of a Link Cable glints from within a pile of dead leaves. A trick of the light? Or something more sinister...?

*Damage and Energy*


 Epitaph's Health: 100% - 16% (Fire Blast) = 84%
 Epitaph's Energy: 100% - 4% (Flame Charge) - 4% (Disable) - 3% (Shadow Ball) = 89%
 Jamie's Health: 100% - 20% (Substitute) = 80%
 Jamie's Substitute: 20% - 7% (Flame Charge) - 19% (Shadow Ball) = rip in pieces
 Jamie's Energy: 100% - 10% (Substitute) - 7% (Fire Blast) - 4% (Spite) = 79%

*Notes*

 Speed order: Epitaph (+1) > Jamie (0).
 Since you two can't use conditionals anyway, I randomized speed order per action instead of per round as I might have done. Everything came up Jamie. Except, you know, then Epitaph boosted her Speed, so randomizing all that in advance was kind of pointless.
 Also since you can't use conditionals, presumably there's no need to post your commands in-thread with the round. I'll just clarify here in the notes if someone's using their move in an unorthodox way.
 Shadow Ball was a crit _and_ lowered Special Defense. Well, it didn't lower Special Defense, since it hit a Substitute, and the crit was pointless, because it would have broken the Substitute anyway. R.I.P. Substiboo.
 PM me your commands, etc.


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## Lord of the Fireflies (Aug 27, 2015)

_frisky_


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## Eifie (Aug 30, 2015)

*Round Two*​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 84%
*Energy*: 89%
*Status*: Disheartened. Was all her effort to banish the evil spirit for naught? Shadow Ball Spited. _+1 Speed_.

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 80%
*Energy*: 79%
*Status*: Eager to avenge his fallen "friend". Substitute Disabled (2 more actions).

------------------------------​
Wh-what's this? Her trainer wants her to risk _angering_ the evil spirit? Trembling, Epitaph approaches the doppelganger's decomposing mass, prodding it carefully with her stem... Good. It doesn't move. Perhaps it is safe. Looking up at Jamie, she lights up her eyes in the most sinister fashion she can manage, and the ghost on her head opens its mouth to deliver a few choice insults... and then Jamie's eyes _start glowing a deep red oh my pumpkagod_??? No, this is too terrifying! Completely freaked out, Epitaph falls over face-first into the dirt. Apparently Jamie doesn't mean too much harm, however: the ghost in his stem floats out to meet Epitaph's and they exchange a firm, yet incorporeal handshake, balancing their already roughly-equal powers. You gotta play fair in the ghost world, after all.

To Epitaph, however, this doesn't seem fair at all. How could Jamie try to turn her spirit against her?! Let's see how _he_ likes it! Eyes lighting up indignantly, Epitaph focuses her ghostly powers outward to take brief control of Jamie's inhabitant spirit. The already-naughty ghost cackles gleefully as it rocks Jamie's stem back and forth, more and more, until he, too, falls and eats a mouthful of dirt. That's as far as Epitaph's powers will take her, however, and as the spirit regains control over itself it sends a little of its own ghostly energy rocketing her way in revenge. The Shadow Ball eats away at the skin on her stem, and she cries out in pain as her own spirit thrashes about within it.

Far in the distance, a bell tolls. A raven caws. A gravestone shifts slightly on the ground. It is time for the Rite of Flames. Both Pumpkaboo nod formally to one another and ready their stances. Epigraph moves first, a thick column of fire bursting from within her to unfurl into a five-pointed shape. The flame crackles as it bears slowly down upon Jamie, and he sweats nervously, the heat causing him great discomfort, but he must do his duty. As the fire begins to scorch him, he retaliates with his own, a more simple and plain tongue of white-hot flame. Both Pokémon screech twin screams as the flames engulf them. Had any onlookers been present, they might have had several memoirs to write of this one single, dazzling sight, charged with spiritual power and ancient significance. Slowly the flames dwindle down, leaving only ghosts of their crackling, smoking embers.

------------------------------​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 54%
*Energy*: 73%
*Status*: _And so it must be_. Shadow Ball Spited. _+1 Speed_.
*Used*: Swagger (missed) ~ Foul Play ~ Fire Blast

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 52%
*Energy*: 69%
*Status*: _And so it must be_.
*Used*: Pain Split ~ Shadow Ball ~ Flamethrower

*Arena Status*

 The end of a Link Cable glints from within a pile of dead leaves. A trick of the light? Or something more sinister...?

*Damage and Energy*


 Epitaph's Health: 84% - 2% (Pain Split) - 15% (Shadow Ball) - 13% (Flamethrower) = 54%
 Epitaph's Energy: 89% - 4% (Swagger) - 5% (Foul Play) - 7% (Fire Blast) = 73%
 Jamie's Health: 80% + 2% (Pain Split) - 14% (Foul Play) - 16% (Fire Blast) = 52%
 Jamie's Energy: 79% - 2% (Pain Split) - 3% (Shadow Ball) - 5% (Flamethrower) = 69%

*Notes*

 Speed order: Epitaph (+1) > Jamie (0).
 what did i just write
 Swagger missed.
 Disable wore off after the second action. It really didn't fit in the narrative.
 PM me your commands, etc.


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## Lord of the Fireflies (Aug 30, 2015)

my plaaan

my awesome plaaaan


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## Eifie (Aug 30, 2015)

Lord of the Fireflies said:


> my plaaan
> 
> my awesome plaaaan


And so it must be...


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## Eifie (Sep 3, 2015)

*Round Three*​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 54%
*Energy*: 73%
*Status*: _And so it must be_. Shadow Ball Spited. _+1 Speed_.

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 52%
*Energy*: 69%
*Status*: _And so it must be_.

------------------------------​
Wh-what's this? Her trainer wants her to stop being _afraid_ of the evil spirit? Trembling, Epitaph turns toward her foe, whose face is wreathed in flickering shadows of the dying embers from the sacred Rite of Flames. Thanks to the incredible speed of ghostly communication, which scientists at Silph Co. have laboured for years to replicate without success, it takes her less than a second to give her resident spirit a rousing pep talk, nudging it out of her stem. And then it happens. Darkness overtakes her field of vision as the evil spirit of Jamie's past claws its way up through the dirt, locking Epitaph's spirit in place with the grip of its clammy, pointed fingers. Her poor little ghost flails wildly against it as Epitaph struggles to overcome this mental block, finally swallowing down a wave of nausea to will the spirit forward. A ball of crackling ghostly energy shoots forth, latching on to Jamie's stem and reacting violently with the spirit within.

Eyes glowing, Jamie drifts eerily up into the air. A ghostly wind blows through the burial ground as he circles his opponent, building up speed until his form is but a blur, an orange streak zipping around her. The orange trail grows successively thicker as one, two, three more Jamies flicker into existence behind him, and as they slow, the fire in all their eyes dies out at once. Epitaph gulps, unwilling to believe this. Now there are _four_ consorts of evil spirits? No! She must vanquish them! Timidly the Pumpkaboo retreats to face her trainer, seemingly in fear, but then a familiar burst of fire explodes from her eyeholes, propelling her backward into one of the Jamies. Alas, she flies on right through, and the Jamie disappears in a flash with a lingering cackle.

And then the unthinkable happens. Three Jamies dive into three piles of leaves, and for one peaceful moment, all is silent. The corpse of the evil spirit twitches. A light flickers in its eyes. The flame glows brighter and brighter as Jamie invests more of his life energy into it, and the doppelganger pushes itself upright, rotting pumpkin skin sliding off its flesh. Screeching, Epitaph fires off a wave of dark energy in a panic, but the evil spirit doesn't even move to intercept it, and the Jamie she targeted winks out of existence, taking its pile of dead leaves with it.

An ominous cackle fills the air. The two remaning Jamies' eyes go deep black, and the evil spirit's follow. A thrashing, fleshy ghost baby rises from the spirit's stem, pallid skin sagging over its shrunken skeleton. A piercing scream fills the air as it latches on to Epitaph's stem, hungrily draining a huge portion of her life energy away for itself. The world spins around Epitaph as she remains frozen to the spot in pure terror, until at last the spirit has had its fill, and returns to the mass of rotting pumpkin from whence it came.

------------------------------​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 35%
*Energy*: 58%
*Status*: Ready to nope right out of this place. Shadow Ball Spited. _+2 Speed_.
*Used*: Shadow Ball ~ Flame Charge (hit clone) ~ Dark Pulse (hit clone)

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 35%
*Energy*: 38%
*Status*: Cackling madly. Has 1 clone and a 20% Substitute.
*Used*: Double Team (3 clones) ~ Substitute (20%) ~ Pain Split

*Arena Status*

 The end of a Link Cable glints from within a pile of dead leaves. A trick of the light? Or something more sinister...?

*Damage and Energy*


 Epitaph's Health: 54% - 19% (Pain Split) = 35%
 Epitaph's Energy: 73% - 7% (Shadow Ball) - 4% (Flame Charge) - 4% (Dark Pulse) = 58%
 Jamie's Health: 52% - 15% (Shadow Ball) - 20% (Substitute) + 18% (Pain Split) = 35%
 Jamie's Substitute: 20%
 Jamie's Energy: 69% - 3% (Double Team) - 10% (Substitute) - 18% (Pain Split) = 38%

*Notes*

 Speed order: Epitaph (+2) > Jamie (0).
 Despite hitting a clone, Flame Charge still boosted Speed since that boost doesn't come from the actual impact.
 The interaction between Double Team and Substitute are kind of tricky, as evidenced by a discussion about it in the Question Box a while back, so for now I'm just going to say the Substitute will only take hits for its real master.
 PM me your commands, etc.


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## Eifie (Sep 5, 2015)

*Round Four*​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 35%
*Energy*: 58%
*Status*: Ready to nope right out of this place. Shadow Ball Spited. _+2 Speed_.

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 35%
*Energy*: 38%
*Status*: Cackling madly. Has 1 clone and a 20% Substitute.

------------------------------​
Wh-what's this? Her trainer wants her to create her _own_ evil spirit?! Well... fine! If that is what must be done, it shall be done. Epitaph's eyes begin to glow with a spooky blue flame, and an aura of the same colour surrounds a nearby cave. A faint moan echoes through the burial ground, followed by a drawn-out _creak_. The gravestone twitches, then falls back in place. Another moan, from much closer this time.

A crack appears in the gravestone, and all at once it splits in two. The rotting form of another ancient Pumpkaboo slowly emerges from the opening, its stench overtaking the arena. Epitaph calls out to it, and as it turns to the one that roused it, its eyes... take on a bright pink light? With a gleeful chirp, the Substiboo hops over to its master, eyes flashing happily. Its expression doesn't change even with a ball of shadowy energy comes its way from the Jamies' direction, eating away at some of its rotting flesh.

Bolstered by the fresh (or not) company, Epitaph jumps up and down on the spot, and her Substiboo mimics her. The two pieces of the broken gravestone rise into the air, each targeting one of the Jamies, and crash down as one. The evil spirit hastens to shield the true Jamie, but the clone disappears upon impact, leaving just the original and the spirit for Epitaph to contend with. Screaming angrily, Jamie launches yet another ball of ghostly energy, and Epitaph's Substitute bravely leaps in front of her to take the hit, exploding into tiny pieces of ghostly ectoplasm. No! Not her friendly spirit! Overcome with grief, Epitaph summons up her own shadowy orb, and the evil spirit, too, crumbles to the ground on impact.

Now it's just Pumpkaboo and other Pumpkaboo. Unable to bear his new loneliness, Jamie opens his mouth in a soundless wail, and a stream of fire gushes from it. As the flame reaches Epitaph, some of her stem begins to shrivel away, unable to stand the heat of the slow-burning flame. A delicious smell fills the air, and Lord of the Fireflies glances hungrily over at his Pokémon before turning guility the other way.

------------------------------​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 6%
*Energy*: 36%
*Status*: Roasted and friendless. Shadow Ball Spited. _+2 Speed_.
*Used*: Substitute (20%) ~ Rock Slide ~ Shadow Ball

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 35%
*Energy*: 28%
*Status*: Not sure how to deal with being all alone...
*Used*: Shadow Ball ~ Shadow Ball ~ Incinerate

*Arena Status*

 The end of a Link Cable glints from within a pile of dead leaves. A trick of the light? Or something more sinister...?

*Damage and Energy*


 Epitaph's Health: 35% - 20% (Substitute) - 9% (Incinerate) = 6%
 Epitaph's Substitute: 20% - 15% (Shadow Ball) - 15% (Shadow Ball) = 0%
 Epitaph's Energy: 58% - 10% (Substitute) - 5% (Rock Slide) - 7% (Shadow Ball) = 36%
 Jamie's Health: 35%
 Jamie's Substitute: 20% - 5% (Rock Slide) - 15% (Shadow Ball) = 0%
 Jamie's Energy: 38% - 3% (Shadow Ball) - 3% (Shadow Ball) - 4% (Incinerate) = 28%

*Notes*

 Speed order: Epitaph (+2) > Jamie (0).
 Rock Slide's damage was affected by the fact that it was spread between two Jamies. I've never actually held up the spread damage reduction for clones before, but I mean, it makes more sense.
 PM me your commands, etc.


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## Eifie (Sep 7, 2015)

*Round Five*​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 6%
*Energy*: 36%
*Status*: Roasted and friendless. Shadow Ball Spited. _+2 Speed_.

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 35%
*Energy*: 28%
*Status*: Not sure how to deal with being all alone...

------------------------------​


Spoiler: Lord of the Fireflies's commands



I'm not sure we can live through this round, Epitaph, but we'll sure try. Begin with Shadow Sneak to sneak _away_ from Jamie. Use your superior speed to cover as much ground as possible. I suspect Jamie will Shadow Sneak right away, too, so he'll lose his time trying to punch you while you will already be far, far away. Your number one priority here is to get the hell out, far enough so he won't be able to hit you with any attack. You'll combo that speedy escape with the creation of as many clones as you can. Finish with Pain Split if you're still alive then.

*Shadow Sneak (escape as far as possible) + Double Team ~ Pain Split*



Wh-what's this? Her trainer wants to _eat_ her?! Such betrayal! Epitaph is alone in the world, and all that's left for her to do is flee to the ends of the earth and create her own company. Silently she cloaks herself in a veil of shadow, creeping undetected away from her opponent as Jamie, hidden in the shadows himself, slinks closer in her direction. Epitaph's candle flame burns brightly, however, granting her superior agility (while somehow not piercing through the layer of shadow), and when Jamie moves to strike she leaps out of the way, streaking in a ring around him at top speed. Nine identical Epitaphs spring from the shadows behind her (Lord of the Fireflies stares at them longingly), and Jamie flies pointlessly through one of them, which instantly disappears. When Epitaph slows to a stop she's still surrounded by eight of her friends, and as one they smirk in Jamie's direction.

Angered that his victory has been snatched from him, Jamie quickly disappears into the shadows again and jumps out at one of the Epitaph's at random. Again luck has failed him, however, and the target clone disappears with a high-pitched giggle. Jamie refuses to give up. He whirls around, still surrounded in shadowy energy, and slashes his stem through a third clone. Hah! He'll never break through all of them! All seven Epitaphs cackle at once as their stems glow with ghostly energy, rushing in to steal some of Jamie's own lifeforce. For the umpteenth time this fight their energy is equalized, and each of the Epitaphs grows to twice their original size as Jamie quails in fear.

------------------------------​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 21%
*Energy*: 8%
*Status*: Bolstered by the presence of her clones. Even her trainer won't know the real Epitaph from the fakes! Has 6 clones. Shadow Ball Spited. _+2 Speed_.
*Used*: Shadow Sneak + Double Team ~ Pain Split

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 21%
*Energy*: 22%
*Status*: Suddenly trembling. Things seem to have gone downhill...
*Used*: Shadow Sneak (hit clone) ~ Shadow Sneak (hit clone) ~ Shadow Sneak (hit clone)

*Arena Status*

 The end of a Link Cable glints from within a pile of dead leaves. A trick of the light? Or something more sinister...?

*Damage and Energy*


 Epitaph's Health: 6% + 15% (Pain Split) = 21%
 Epitaph's Energy: 36% - 13% (Shadow Sneak + Double Team) - 15% (Pain Split) = 8%
 Jamie's Health: 35% - 14% (Pain Split) = 21%
 Jamie's Energy: 28% - 2% (Shadow Sneak) - 2% (Shadow Sneak) - 2% (Shadow Sneak) = 22%

*Notes*

 Speed order: Epitaph (+2) > Jamie (0).
 Epitaph wasn't able to move far away enough with Shadow Sneak that Jamie couldn't also cover the distance with Shadow Sneak in an action, but she was certainly able to quickly make some clones with it.
 The speed boost from Shadow Sneak allowed Epitaph to create one extra clone, for a total of nine. The combo cost an extra 2% energy.
 PM me your commands, etc.


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## Lord of the Fireflies (Sep 7, 2015)

_it wurked_


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## Eifie (Sep 9, 2015)

*Round Six*​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 21%
*Energy*: 8%
*Status*: Bolstered by the presence of her clones. Even her trainer won't know the real Epitaph from the fakes! Has 6 clones. Shadow Ball Spited. _+2 Speed_.

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 21%
*Energy*: 22%
*Status*: Suddenly trembling. Things seem to have gone downhill...

------------------------------​


Spoiler: Keldeo's commands






Spoiler: strategy talk! which is pointless since we're not posting in-thread anyway and I'm probably overthinking it, why did I type this up



Okay, we're treading a fine line here. They have an advantage in the clones, but they're also really hamstrung by the 8% energy, which means we can target either their energy or health (I'm not actually sure if LotF will try accounting for this by Chilling one of the actions, which would be a big mistake if we went for health.) They also won't be able to bust out a Synthesis, big Substitute, or multiple Shadow Balls unless they also take an action or two to Chill, which puts them at a disadvantage. If they have a way to KO us with the amount of energy they've got left they're going to win, while if both of us play it safe rather than attack LotF will probably outplay me next round - but I'm pretty sure they can't KO us as quickly as we can KO them. With that in mind:


We'll be starting with a *Flamethrower*. Sweep it between the clones, _especially_ if there's a substitute. Next, go for a *Shadow Ball*, which should do precisely enough damage to KO them unless stuff happened. Let's end this with a swept *Rock Slide*, because to be honest if they're still standing on the last action we're most likely screwed.

Also float/walk/whatever Pumpkaboo do to locomote closer to her while you attack, if possible, in case they try to Pumpkarunaway again or whatever.

*Flamethrower (sweep) ~ Shadow Ball ~ Rock Slide (sweep)*



Surrounding Jamie in a ring, all seven Epitaphs flash their eyelights on and off at once, and several strings of multicoloured light flow out of them. Jamie is entranced, looking from one stream of light to the next, and leaps up into the air to attempt to catch one, missing completely and landing flat on his face. As he lies in the dirt, nonplussed, the Epitaphs all roll over onto their sides, attempting to take a nice short nap in this super-creepy burial ground. Relaxing isn't all that easy, as the discarded evil spirit seems to be watching them...

Rolling back upright, Jamie abruptly sends off another orb of shadowy energy into one of the Epitaphs at random. His target squeals in pain as it hits, revealing herself as the real thing, and the other six vanish as the flickering light eats away at Epitaph's skin. The distressed Pumpkaboo unleashes all her pain in a quick pulse of dark energy, and Jamie rolls backward in shock, nearly unable to find the will to stand up again. He forces himself to jump up and down once, twice, and a few small gravestones rise into the air, piling down upon poor Epitaph at once. The exhausted Epitaph, too, falls backward, but unlike Jamie's she's unable to get up again, all her energy spent.

------------------------------​
*Lord of the Fireflies*

*Epitaph of a Despised Coward*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk, Trace (Frisk)
*Health*: 0%
*Energy*: 5%
*Status*: Knocked out!
*Used*: Confuse Ray ~ Chill ~ Dark Pulse

*Keldeo*

*Jamie*  @ Link Cable
*Ability*: Frisk
*Health*: 5%
*Energy*: 12%
*Status*: _Oh... it's over? But my precious lights..._
*Used*: [confused] ~ Shadow Ball ~ Rock Slide

*Arena Status*

 The end of a Link Cable glints from within a pile of dead leaves. A trick of the light? Or something more sinister...?

*Damage and Energy*


 Epitaph's Health: 21% - 15% (Shadow Ball) - 7% (Rock Slide) = 0%
 Epitaph's Energy: 8% - 4% (Confuse Ray) + 5% (Chill) - 4% (Dark Pulse) = 5%
 Jamie's Health: 21% - 4% (confusefail) - 12% (Dark Pulse) = 5%
 Jamie's Energy: 22% - 2% (confusefail) - 3% (Shadow Ball) - 5% (Rock Slide) = 12%

*Notes*

 Sorry, I don't feel at all like writing today.
 Shadow Ball hit the real Epitaph, destroying the other clones. Attempting to chill in such a spooky environment _and_ taking so much damage impacted Epitaph's chillaxing enough to cut the energy recovery in half. 
 Ah, the moment of truth as I made Jamie's final confusion roll, which would likely have decided the battle: his streak of luck continued as he rolled a 97.
 There was nowhere to spread Rock Slide, so Jamie didn't. The attack wouldn't have done enough damage to KO Epitaph if he had, so if you take issue with that, let me know! I'm a bit iffy on it myself.
 And there we go! After an amazing fight to the finish, Jamie narrowly comes out on top, giving Keldeo the win. Jamie gains 2 exp, Epitaph gains 1 exp, and both Pokémon can now evolve. Keldeo gets $8, Lord of the Fireflies gets $4, and I get a cool $5. Great battle, both of you!


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## Keldeo (Sep 9, 2015)

I can't believe that actually worked, wow! Thank you for a great battle all the way, LotF, and thanks for the super-spooky reffings, Eifie!


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## Lord of the Fireflies (Sep 10, 2015)

Wooow. Thank you as well Keldeo, a formidable opponent as always.

And Eifie, thank you again for all the swift reffings, never shall I aquire your dedication.


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